Overview
- German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul set out a six-point plan in Berlin to change how the EU enlarges and makes foreign and security decisions.
- He urged using qualified majority voting for foreign policy so decisions can pass with a set share of countries and population, a method the EU already uses for most laws.
- The plan backs a staged path to membership with interim steps before full entry, naming the Western Balkans, Ukraine and Moldova as priorities while saying Iceland and Norway would be welcome.
- Wadephul proposed adding clauses to accession deals that can hold back EU funds when governments break shared values or fail to cooperate in good faith.
- He called for leaner EU institutions that can work with more members and said about a dozen countries support forming a core group to move ahead when all 27 cannot.